100% Riesling

Food pairings: Shellfish, poultry, pork and gently spicy dishes.

Scores:

• 95 points, James Suckling

Winemaking: Fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and aged on its fine lees, which gives the wine depth and an almost powerful body, then sealed under natural cork. Eva Fricke works minimally in the cellar, following organic and vegan principles.

Vineyards and terroir: The Mélange is a blend of Eva Fricke's top old-vine sites. In 2023 the fruit came entirely from Eltville, predominantly from the old vines of the former Schloss Eltz holdings, where loess and loam soils are studded in places with river pebbles and quartzite. In her steep vineyards she works almost entirely by hand, sorting the fruit over several passes at harvest, and she uses no herbicides or pesticides.

Family and history: Born in Bremen, Eva Fricke found her home in the Rheingau, where she now runs her own estate in Eltville. Harvests at wineries in France, Italy, Australia and South Africa shaped her craft before she set out on her own, and her rise has been swift: Falstaff named her Newcomer of the Year in 2013, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called her the rising winemaker of 2015, and Stuart Pigott dubbed her his Riesling Heroine of 2016. The estate has been certified organic since 2016 and registered with the Vegan Society since 2017.